Arts Hound

Calling all muralists! Four bridge pillars are waiting to be someone’s canvas at the new Washington Jefferson Skatepark, which, once complete (grand opening is slated for June 21), will be the largest covered and lighted public skate park in the nation. The city is hosting a tour of the facility 10:30 am Thursday, April 3. Interested artists should register by contacting isaac.r.marquez@ci.eugene.or.us or call 541-682-205; applications must be submitted by 2 pm Friday, April 11.

If you have yet to see the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art’s Emancipating the Past: Kara Walker’s Tales of Slavery and Power, then book it to the Shnitz by April 6 when the exhibit packs up shop. In honor of the show’s closing, and due to the popularity of her last visit to the Eugene Public Library Feb. 23, the JSMA is bringing back PSU professor Walidah Imarisha for her talk, “Why Aren’t There More Black People in Oregon? A Hidden History,” 3:30 pm Friday, April 4. Get there early to tour the museum because every First Friday is free admission. “The fact that they had to turn away between 75 and 100 folks because of capacity speaks to the desire and need to have these conversations, to uncover these hidden histories and to see how these living legacies affect every one of our lives,” Imarisha tells EW via email about her first Eugene talk. Come back 2 pm Saturday, April 5, for “A Conversation about Collecting with Jordan Schnitzer,” led by JSMA Executive Director Jill Hartz, in which Schnitzer will speak about his Kara Walker collection and more.

Attention ArtWalkers: The April 4 First Friday ArtWalk is going to be a colorful humdinger. The official guided crawl begins at 5:30 pm, led by Oregon Arts Commissioner Libby Tower, at the Eugene Springfield Art Project (224 E. 11th), featuring the playful paintings of Terry and Perry Johnson — two-thirds of a set of triplet brothers. The Lane County Artists Juried ArtShow kicks off in the Broadway Commerce Center mezzanine and runs through June 14. Off the guided tour, be sure to check out the Rhythm show at Jacobs Gallery, where Joneile Emery’s exuberant and masterful watercolor studies of neon signs will be on display, along with the bold marble sculpture of Al Sieradski and Kelli MacConnell’s richly detailed wilderness prints. Don’t miss Sharon Dursi’s work at Aurora Gallery and Tattoo — an expressive collection of oil paintings that feels uniquely Eugene.

G.L.A.M. is BACK: If you’ve been jonesin’ for drag queens, go-go dancers and generally getting down, jones no more! G.L.A.M. nights, which formerly had a home at the late John Henry’s, is back for monthly events at Luckey’s beginning 10 pm Saturday, April 5; $5. Saturday is a big night for drag — Damsels, Divas & Dames, presented by the HIV Alliance and the Imperial Sovereign Court of the Emerald Empire, celebrates its 15th year at the Hult at 7:30 pm; $25-$30.

Now that plastic bags are officially out of fashion, look a little closer at the non-woven polypropylene recyclable “art bags” sold at Market of Choice. MOC is commissioning Oregon artists — Licia Basille-Jelten of Corvallis, Rogene Manas of Eugene and Blenda Tyvoll of Beavercreek — to create art for the limited edition totes and for each bag sold, $1.50 goes to local arts orgs, such as Lane Arts Council Artist Residencies and The Arts Center of Corvallis’ At Risk Youth Program.

Mo’ money, mo’ art. The Oregon Art Commission is doling out $237,500 statewide in “Capacity Building Grants” as part of the Sustaining Oregon’s Arts program. The Eugene Opera and the Eugene Symphony were awarded $12,000 and $19,000 respectively.